


It's my choice too

by a_dot_burr_ell



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Gen, mentions of Danny Lawrence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2014-10-25
Packaged: 2018-02-22 14:57:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2511800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_dot_burr_ell/pseuds/a_dot_burr_ell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So I wrote a thing for Carmilla. This is a post episode 25 setting. It was supposed to be short and ended up being over 2,000 words. Whoops.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's my choice too

It was well after sundown before Carmilla returned. Her roommate had stormed away after Lafontaine’s probing and Laura had been slightly worried for the wellbeing of the student population until Carmilla grabbed her soy milk container out of the fridge and poured herself a glass of blood, drinking deeply.

_I guess she didn’t eat out_ , Laura thought with relief.

“Lafontaine went to go calm Perry down; I guess she was freaking out a bit harder after the mushroom attacks than we thought.” Laura offered as Carmilla removed her boots.

“Riveting.” Carmilla mumbled, tossing her boots to one side of the room, picking up a book from her nightstand settling herself on the bed.

Laura frowned at Carmilla’s indifferent mood. Even knowing her roommate was a vampire, proof she had from the bite marks on her neck, and suspecting that she was involved in the disappearances, Laura had been having a hard time believing that nocturnal, lazy, Carmilla was actually dangerous.

When they had ambushed her, Carmilla had struggled against Danny and Lafontaine, but she hadn’t really injured anyone until Will and Kirsch had come as back up. That was when it took all of them to pin her down long enough to tie her up using the rope Will had brought, adding a necklace of garlic around her neck for safe measure.

It was a stark difference to the scene that had played out in their room when Danny had come in, stake in hand. Carmilla had unarmed Danny in an instant and had the taller girl by the neck with one hand. Laura could have sworn that Carmilla had lifted Danny up enough for the redhead’s feet to leave the ground and Danny’s face had turned nearly as red as her hair. Or even earlier today, when Carmilla had bulldozed through twenty infected, zombie, students to make a path wide enough for them to escape the theater building; the girl was packing some serious muscle.

“Hey, Carmilla, if you’re so strong, why were we able to tie you up?” Laura asked curiously, trying to sound innocent while biting back the question she really wanted to ask. “Was it the garlic?”

“No, it wasn’t the garlic.” Carmilla rolled her eyes, languidly flipping the page in her book. “I was restraining myself at first because I didn’t know how much you knew about me at that point. But then Will showed up and gave you that rope and he was smiling like the idiot he is and everyone kept screaming ‘vampire!’ So I knew he had to have brought blessed rope.”

Laura frowned. “Blessed rope? Wait- Are you saying he did it on purpose?”

“He’s a vampire too so he knows our weaknesses.” Carmilla shrugged. “As evidence of the other night, he would do anything just to mess with me so…” She waved one hand towards the computer chair that she had been previously tied to.

Laura contemplated pressing Carmilla for more information on Will but there was another question burning at the forefront of her mind. Screwing up her courage, Laura blurted out the one question she really needed to know.

“Were you really going to hurt Danny? Because the whole ‘tear out your spine’ thing was a little graphic.” She rambled.

“I was seriously thinking about it.” Carmilla mumbled irritably, not taking her eyes off of the book she was reading.

“Carmilla!” Laura said reproachfully, leaving the bed to take her usual seat by the computer.

“What!?” The vampire demanded, sitting up in bed and closing her book. “That girl barges in here and attacks me _twice_! I may be stronger than you but I’m not immune to pain, cupcake. Being ambushed, thrown around and shoved face first into the ground while you hog-tied me still hurts! I swear you and your merry band of dimwits are just as bad as my mother; I don’t know why I even bother to play nice!”

Carmilla sank back into the comfort of her bed and resumed reading, fuming. A silence descended on the room and Carmilla could see Laura out of the corner of her eye, staring down at her knees, worrying the hem line of her shirt.

“You’re saying _I’m_ as bad as your mother?” Laura croaked, drawing out the word in surprise. Laura had assumed that Carmilla wasn’t upset about the ambush but the confrontation with Danny and Carmilla’s outburst now had proven otherwise.

“Obviously not. Your internment lasted two weeks and, despite the fact that my ‘grounding’ ended after seventy years, mother _had_ intended for me to waste away for the rest of my undead life.” Carmilla swallowed thickly against the dark memories. “But then, at least, I had been in a coffin made of blood that had kept me somewhat nourished! You, on the other hand, starved me until I was seizing where I was tied!”

“We were trying to figure out what was happening to all those girls!” Laura shot back. “You were our only lead so…”

“Are you seriously trying to justify what you did? Just because you built up this little scenario in your head? That gives you the right to treat me like less than a person? Hmm, now why does that sound familiar? Oh yeah! That’s the same thing you just told that ginger Amazon you care so much about.” Carmilla pointed out sardonically.

“That is not the same thing!” Laura argued, jumping up from her spot on the computer chair and Carmilla smirked; Laura was so short that her standing for emphasis hardly made any difference in height. “Danny was worried about my safety and, yes, she was going about it the wrong way because it’s not her responsibility but we had found out you were a VAMPIRE and we needed to know what happened to Betty and the others! Plus, you BIT me!”

“Yes, I bit you. I was hungry, I needed to catch Will, and I was seriously pissed off! But you decided that I was guilty without even asking me!” Carmilla shrieked, her temper flaring again. “Whether you were right or wrong about me, it’s still a shitty way to treat someone, cupcake. And at least my mother knew I had betrayed her before she attacked me; that’s more than I can say for you.”

Laura had to admit that Carmilla had her there. Carmilla may have been involved but it definitely hadn’t been in the way they ever could have imagined. Laura thought back to the research she and Danny had done; girls had been disappearing since the school’s inception but Carmilla’s reappearance had shown a marked decrease in the disappearances, going from at least twenty girls in the 50’s down to fifteen in the 70’s, around twelve in the 90’s and now only four girls had been affected.

_Five girls_ , Laura reminded herself, catching sight of the dried bat wing dangling from her wrist. _I’m still on their list_.

Carmilla had told her that the charm had made her feel off to vampires. Laura briefly wondered what Carmilla had done to get the charm and how was her roommate able to stand being near her. Did it itch? Smell? Hurt? Laura remembered how tenderly Carmilla had tied the bracelet onto her wrist even after being held captive. Laura glanced over to Carmilla’s scowling face and tried to imagine the situation from her perspective.

How would she feel if someone asked her out, lured her to a room and attacked her, tied her to a chair and starved her? It would be kidnapping, it would be torture, it would be illegal! And on top of that, what if this was something you’d experienced before but on a much, much, more permanent scale? She imagined Carmilla alone with her heartbreak, in the dark for centuries, and then trapped by someone else she had feelings for.

Suddenly, the weight of what they’d done settled over her, sending her stomach churning. Laura had recorded Carmilla’s past, turning it into some kind of mock-puppet show while Carmilla spilled her tragic secrets; that must have been painful and humiliating. They hadn’t even been the ones to untie her; if Carmilla’s mother hadn’t ordered it, Carmilla would probably _still_ be tied to the very chair Laura was sitting in now.  

“Oh my god. Carmilla, I didn’t realize! I’m so sor-” Laura started, horrified with herself.

“I’m not interested, creampuff.” Carmilla scoffed, interrupting her.

“I just-” Laura swallowed thickly, standing from her seat and pacing the room. “God, how can you even stand to be in the same room with me?!”

“Well, I was going to flee the scene but you convinced me that it was in everyone’s best interest to stay so…” Carmilla shrugged, turning a page in her book with extra force.

“You’re right, I did.” Laura groaned. “Ok, well then I won’t put you out.”

Laura knelt beside her bed, searching underneath for a bag.

“What are you doing?” Carmilla asked, finally lowering her book.

“I’m packing.” Laura replied, throwing all the clothes within reach into her bag. “You need to stay here to convince your mother that you haven’t turned against her again, so I’ll go.”

“What?” Carmilla exclaimed, scooting off the bed and coming to Laura’s side. “You can’t. Where would you even go?”

“To Danny’s, to Lafontaine’s and Perry’s.” Laura shook her head. “It doesn’t really matter at this point.”

“Ok, hold your horses there, creampuff.” Carmilla said firmly, grabbing Laura’s bag out of her hands and turning the contents out on the bed.

“Hey!” Laura cried. She reached for the bag but Carmilla kept it easily out of reach.

“Look, the whole reason I stayed was to convince my mother I had a good reason for saving you.” Carmilla explained, ignoring Laura’s protests. “You’re staying.”

“So, are you keeping me hostage now?” Laura challenged.   

“If you’re leaving because you really want to, I won’t stop you, but at least give a girl a chance to put her boots back on so that I can walk you there. But if you’re leaving because you think that’s what I want, then there’s no way I’m letting you walk out the door.” Carmilla huffed, tossing the now empty bag to the floor and kicking it back under the bed.

“I don’t need an escort!” Laura exclaimed, her temper flaring.

“Look, this isn’t the same thing as when you were arguing with Paul Bunyan!” Carmilla pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingertips. “My mother is a real danger! To you especially! I’m not trying to tell you what you can or can’t do. Move around however much you like during sunlight hours, cutie; they wouldn’t dare touch anyone during the day. All I’m saying is that it’s nearly midnight right now, and whatever you choose, you could at least be smart enough to take any advantage you have! Which includes taking your vampire roommate up on her offer to walk you wherever you want to go!”

“You can’t! I don’t deserve it. I mean after all we’ve done to you-.” Laura shook her head.

“You know, for someone who complains about people telling her what to do, you sure are trying to diminish my say in the matter.” Carmilla snapped.

That brought Laura up short. “Carmilla-. I just meant.”

“I know what you meant, cupcake.” Carmilla sighed. “My staying may have been your plan, but _I’m_ the one who choose to stay. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Will nab you just because you fancied a midnight stroll and were too stubborn to use my protection when _I_ offered it.”

“I just don’t know why you’d do that after… everything.” Laura said, sitting on the edge of her bed.

“You don’t have to know why.” Carmilla replied. “But either way, it’s my choice too.”

“Ok.” Laura said quietly.

“So are we staying or going?” Carmilla asked briskly, staring down at her.

“Staying.” Laura decided, feeling suddenly bashful. “I should probably just go to bed.”

“Sounds good.” Carmilla huffed, settling herself back on her bed.

Laura shoved all the crap on her bed to one side and pulled back the covers, getting into bed. She reached behind her turned her lamp off, leaving the room illuminated by only Carmilla’s bedside lamp. Laura pulled the covers up around her shoulder and faced the wall, feeling strangely embarrassed to be leaving Carmilla reading without saying anything.

“Good night, Carmilla.” Laura blurted, hoping her roommate couldn’t tell that her cheeks were burning red.

It was quiet for a full minute before Laura heard Carmilla’s soft reply.

“Sweet dreams, creampuff.”


End file.
